THE HADITH
Hadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic
prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him). Hadith collections are regarded by all
traditional schools of jurisprudence as important tools for determining the
Muslim way of life, the sunnah.
DEFINITION AND USAGE
In Arabic the word hadith means that which is new from amongst things or a piece
of information conveyed either in a small quantity or large. The Arabic plural
is a hādīth. In English academic usage, hadith is often both singular and
plural.[citation needed] And hadith is what is spoken by the speaker. Tahdith is
the infinitive, or verbal noun, of the original verb form. Therefore, hadith is
not the infinitive, rather it is a noun.
In Islamic terminology, the term hadith refers to reports about the statements
or actions of Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), or about his tacit approval of
something said or done in his presence. Classical hadith specialist Ibn Hajar
says that the intended meaning of hadith in religious tradition is something
attributed to Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), as opposed to the Qur'an. Other
associated words possess similar meanings: khabar (news, information) often
refers to reports about Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), but sometimes refers to
traditions about his companions (sahāba) and their successors from the following
generation (tābi'īn); conversely, athar (trace, vestige) usually refers to
traditions about the companions and successors, though sometimes connotes
traditions about Muhammad (Peace be upon Him). The word sunnah (custom) is also
used in reference to a normative custom of Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) or the
early Muslim community.
FORMAT
A hadith consists of two aspects: the text of the report (matn) containing the
actual narrative; and the chain of narrators (isnad, or sanad), which documents
the route by which the report has been transmitted.
The "sanad" is so named due to the reliance of the hadith specialists upon it in
determining the authenticity or weakness of a hadith.[clarification needed] The
sanad consists of a ‘chain’ of the narrators each mentioning the one from whom
they heard the hadith until mentioning the originator of the matn along with the
matn itself. The first people who received hadith were the companions; so they
preserved and understood it, knowing both its generality and particulars, and
then conveyed it to those after them as they were commanded. Then the generation
following them, the Followers received it thus conveying it to those after them
and so on. So the companion would say, “I heard the Prophet say such and such.”
The Follower would then say, “I heard a companion say, ‘I heard the Prophet.’”
The one after him (after the Follower) would then say, “I heard someone say, ‘I
heard a Companion say, ‘I heard the Prophet …’’” and so on.
Overview
Hadith were originally oral traditions of Muhammad's (Peace be upon Him)actions
and customs. From the first Fitna of the 7th century people questioned the
sources of hadiths. This resulted in a list of transmitters, for example "A told
me that B told him that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) said."
Hadith were eventually written down, evaluated and gathered into large
collections mostly during the reign of Umar II (bin Abdul Aziz, grandson of Umar
bin Khattab(RAA)2nd Caliph) during the 8th century, and also in the 9th century.
These works are referred to in matters of Islamic law and history to this day.